The main political parties in Wales are working hard to bring out their core vote amid fears that turnout for today’s European election will be poor.

The latest opinion poll by YouGov for ITV Wales forecast that Labour and UKIP were poised to return an MEP each to Brussels from Wales, while there could be a tight three-way tussle for the third and fourth seats between Labour,Plaid Cymru and Conservatives.

The Electoral Reform Society was concerned that turnout for the vote could slip below 30% after the Eurobarometer research which showed almost three in four people in the UK believe their vote does not count in the EU, while two-thirds did not trust it.

Studies by the ERS predicted that more than a third of people (35%) think that it is not worth voting in the poll.

The Welsh turnout in the 2009 European elections was 30.5%, and while there will be council elections in England to encourage turnout, there is no such election in Wales.

European affairs have dominated the political agenda with the emergence of UKIP as a political force.

But Steve Brooks, director of ERS Cymru said: “This week’s European elections are receiving an unusual amount of attention. With UKIP’s rising popularity, the TV debates between Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage, and the Conservatives’ promise of an in-out referendum, Europe has rarely been so high profile.

“Yet our research shows that people still feeling alarmingly distant from European Affairs.

“Nearly 60% don’t feel the European parliament represents their views, and worryingly over a third (35%) say it’s not worth voting in next month’s elections.

“If we’re in the EU, then we must urgently tackle the democratic deficit and bring European institutions closer to the people.”

He said that MPs and Assembly Members should be given a greater role in scrutinising UK ministers on matters which they discuss in the Council of Ministers.

A formalised agreement that Welsh Ministers would have more of a say during EU negotiations could also be considered.

In Germany and Belgium, devolved governments had a legal right to play a role in EU talks.

“That legal right doesn’t exist for us, so it’s time Wales was given the same guarantees. The EU has to be more representative and more accountable, and it should be designed to encourage participation rather than putting people off.

Voters in Wales go to the polls today to cast a vote to elect four Members of the European Parliament to represent the whole of Wales. Voters will only have one vote to cast and there will be 11 registered parties on the ballot paper.

Candidates will be elected by proportional representation so voters will mark their X for a political party not for individual candidates.

Polling stations will be open from 7am until 10pm. But counts will not take place in the 22 local authority areas in Wales until Sunday(25th May) because voting in parts of mainland Europe takes place on that day. Local results can’t be announced before 10 pm when polls close in some parts of Europe.

Local Returning Officers will inform the Regional Returning Officer for Wales, Bryn Parry-Jones, of the result of the count in their area with the result for the Wales electoral region then declared by on Sunday evening at Fishguard Leisure Centre.